Good article on the car...
http://www.italiancar.com.au/pilot/ms016.htm
MOTORSPORT NEWS
GTA COMES 3RD IN SA PRODUCTION CAR CHAMPIONSHIP
Alfa Romeo has brought out the crowds in South Africa with the Alfa 156 GTA finishing in an impressive third place in the manufacturer's first South African racetrack outing in 17 years in the opening round of the 2003 South African Production Car Championship at Kyalami. Organisers of the race meeting said that Alfa's dramatic return to motor sport in South Africa was the reason for the significantly larger spectator turnout for the event.
However, the elation that greeted driver Martin Steyn's efforts were dampened slightly when the results were published, as he was penalised thirty seconds for an alleged jumped start. This placed the young South African fourth, which was still a major achievement for the first mainstream Alfa Romeo racing appearance since 1985.
With production car racing having been dominated by BMW for the past three seasons, it was obvious that for the Alfa merely to be competitive was going to be a major task. The decision to race the still-to-be-launched GTA was only taken late last year, and work on preparing the racecar only commenced in earnest in December 2002.
Run by the newly formed LG Flatron Plasma-Alfissimo Racing Team, the car was only driven in four test outings before making its track appearance. This was in contrast to the three season's development for BMW and the year-long race programme already enjoyed by the Mercedes-Benz team, which will be the Alfa's major rivals for the 2003 championship.
With Martin Steyn qualifying the car just two seconds off the pole position time, it is obvious that the GTA will be challenging for top honours within a few rounds of the championship. "It was a long hard race," said Steyn after the 12-lapper in which he had fought some thrilling wheel-to-wheel duels with eventual second-place finisher Richard Sorenson and Leeroy Poulter (Mercedes-Benz) in the opening stages of the race. "The tyres really only lasted for the first six laps and after that it was a matter of hanging on. I really enjoyed it, and the engine was awesome, but as we had virtually no testing time, we can still make lots of improvement to the race set-up," said Steyn.
Chief technician Dawie de Villiers was highly impressed with the performance, rating Martin Steyn's drive as "outstanding" but cautioned that the team still had a lot of work to do to enable the Alfa to run on the leader's pace for the full race distance. "We will be working not only to find the extra pace that the leaders currently have, but to find a set-up for our front-wheel-drive car that will see the tyres last for the full race distance. I expect us to be a lot closer in Cape Town, even better at the next round in Port Elizabeth, and by the following race, which is back at Kyalami, expect us to be challenging for a race win," said De Villiers. Rival team managers were highly complimentary of the Alfa's performance, and at least one team manager said that as early as Cape Town, the GTA could be challenging for the lead.
Greg Levine, Director for Commercial Operations at Fiat Auto South Africa commented, "We are thrilled with the performance of the Alfa 156 GTA. Congratulations to the whole LG Flatron-Alfissimo Racing Team, to Dawie De Villiers, Jaime Villela, Martin Steyn and Alfissimo, our Boksburg-based Alfa Romeo dealer with the big "Sporting Heart" and passion for the brand."
RESULTS - 2003 SA Production Car Championship - Round One
1. E van der Linde (BMW 330i)
2. R Sorensen (BMW 330i)
3. S. Morris (BMW 330i)
4. M. Steyn (Alfa Romeo GTA)*
5. M. Allison (BMW 330i)
6. 6. D. Brough (Honda)
*Martin Steyn in the Alfa 156 GTA was penalised 30 seconds for an alleged jumped start, which dropped him from third to fourth overall.
02/03/03
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